2012 Dutch Training
at Bruinisee
Report by Coach Graeme Oliver
Photo Tris Williams
The Dutch open Skiff Regatta at Bruinisee gave the perfect
opportunity to run a MPS training session for the growing
Dutch contingent. First, what a fantastic venue, those
of you who didn’t get the chance to come really need
to get to the next event there, this is a stunning venue!
Second, what a great welcome, Tristan and Huud did a
great job of organising the training and the venue to
give the perfect mix of social, good wind and good water….oh
and good beer!
So to the training, with a mirror finish on the water
we stuck to the land in the morning and went through
shore drills for the MPS & 700. The main issue noticed
was the need to get weight forward after the tack to
drive the boat driving as soon as possible. A great
way to sort this is by keeping your head facing forward
after you cross the boat, really makes you accelerate
faster and concentrate on waves, trim & wind. After
lunch there were glimmers of hope on the water and after
another quick session on gybing we took to the water
to put it all into action. A prize for the most (and
most amusing) swims must go to Huud, but he would also
get the most improved as by the end of the second day
his tacking was really getting there.
After a couple of practice races the fleet headed to
the shore for beer, fish & chips & a video debrief
(will post these videos online soon). The main issue
noticed was that when training it’s best to slow everything
down and think about what you are aiming to do before
you do it, rather than rushing and not improving (no
names mentioned Mr Djikstra!!!!)
The second day dawned with perfect conditions, 10-15kts
breeze & sun. After a quick briefing on starts,
evil coach was in play…..
The plan was to set a startline and do a 3 minute countdown,
the idea being that the fleet would be on the line at
1 minute, holding station, which they did…..enter evil
coach……who didn’t blow the whistle on time, might be
early, might be late. This forces people to be ready
to go and react better to starts. This provided many
amusing moments but in general the fleet handled it
brilliantly, great exercise, will use this again!
After a great al-fresco lunch we went
into some practice races to test people’s wind reading
and tactics, with 2 windward marks (one 75m further
upwind) and a leeward gate each boat had to pass by
each windward mark once, this made everyone look for
the gusts and shifts to see if they could gain by doing
the shorter one first or vice versa and took the emphasis
off the starts as it was always possible to get clear
air. It was a real mix of tactics with each windward
mark paying differently each race depending on the gusts
coming down the course! With Paul and Elaine showing
the best overall tactics it was great to watch.
Final race was winner takes all, handicap with some
boats going to the longer mark twice, some once and
some only to the closer mark twice. Huud took the gun
and with it the overall “I’m faster than Paul Djikstra
trophy” I think they all slept well that night, good
job, there was still the regatta to go…
A fantastic event held with great sailors, great organisation,
great venue, great weather (25 deg+ for 4 days), great
accommodation walking distance, what more could you
want…..see you again next year!!
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